Canadian Investment in Building Construction Down for Third Consecutive Month in July

Statistics Canada (StatsCan) reported this morning (9-13-21) that investment in building construction in Canada was down -1.7% to $18.1 billion (C$) in July. On a constant dollar basis (2012=100), investment in building construction declined 1.6% to $13.0 billion in July.

Residential construction investment was down -2.6% in July, a third consecutive monthly decline after a sustained period of strong growth from May 2020 to April 2021. Declines in all provinces brought investment in single-family homes down -4.0% to $7.2 billion. Ontario posted the largest decrease after reaching a record high in April 2021, followed by Quebec, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Non-residential construction investment was up 0.9% in July to $4.6 billion. Institutional investment posted its ninth consecutive increase (+2.2% to $1.3 billion), with the majority of provinces and territories reporting gains in July. Commercial investment was up 0.6% to $2.5 billion in July. Alberta posted the highest increase (+6.0%) due to higher spending on office buildings and buildings for trade and services.